AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $45.94, but opened at $43.75. AST SpaceMobile shares last traded at $47.99, with a volume of 4,264,567 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, June 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Roth Capital started coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.73.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 6.0%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.15. The company has a current ratio of 10.62, a quick ratio of 10.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.84 billion, a PE ratio of -26.74 and a beta of 2.02.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.03). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 7,033.22% and a negative return on equity of 23.56%. The company had revenue of $0.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 million. Analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.65, for a total value of $1,782,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 545,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,450,461.75. This trade represents a 8.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 15,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total value of $541,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 315,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,389,265.36. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 184,250 shares of company stock worth $6,146,750. 41.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,266,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,728,000 after purchasing an additional 135,008 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at about $755,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 117,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,486,000 after buying an additional 23,746 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in AST SpaceMobile by 117.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 51,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after buying an additional 28,025 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth about $4,220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company’s stock.

About AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and provides access to a space-based cellular broadband network for smartphones in the United States. Its SpaceMobile service provides cellular broadband services to end-users who are out of terrestrial cellular coverage. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.